Works are underway to make the stretch of road between the BoD fuel station and the Royal Guest House in Gelephu, Sarpang safer. The road which is less than a kilometre long was risky for travellers as it was too narrow. The road has been widened under the first phase of a larger project to construct a three-and-a-half kilometre Royal Boulevard in Gelephu.
The road from Kuengachhoeling Hotel to the Royal Guest House is twice wider now. Widening works, completed recently, were done at a cost of Nu 4.2 M. With a school, a youth centre and the Thromde Office located along the road, hundreds of vehicles ply it every day. It is yet to be blacktopped but it’s already benefitting the people.
“Narrow road with heavy traffic poses threats of accidents. There were accidents in the past but now it has become safer to commute along this road,” said Ngawang Gyeltshen, a Gelephu resident.
Sonam Tenzin, who is a taxi driver in the town, said that there were risks of the vehicles hitting pedestrians while driving along the stretch in the past. “The road was too narrow to fit two cars at a time, so it was too risky for the drivers as well as the pedestrians. But with the recently widened road, it will become much more convenient,” he said.
Chandra Kumar Sarki, a pedestrian, is hopeful accidents will decrease hereafter. “Now it has become convenient with the widened road because several accidents have occurred in the past. The widened road has given commuters a sense of safety”, he said.
Besides the widening works, the Thromde’s four-lane Royal Boulevard construction plan includes cycle tracks and footpaths on both sides of the highway from the Bhutan-India international border to Shetikhari Bridge. Works to place overhead electrical and telephone transmission lines through a common underground duct will begin once funds become available.
Karma Wangdi, Sarpang.
Edited by Kipchu
